Coco Gauff continues Auckland mastery to set up final with Elina Svitolina

American makes it nine consecutive wins at Auckland Classic.

FINAL: Coco Gauff will defend her title at the Auckland Classic against Elina Svitolina after beating fellow American Emma Navarro 6-3, 6-1 in their semi-final on Saturday. Pic: Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP

Coco Gauff will defend her title at the Auckland Classic against Elina Svitolina after beating fellow American Emma Navarro 6-3, 6-1 in their semi-final on Saturday. Gauff needed only 62 minutes to sweep past the fourth-seeded Navarro and has now won 18 straight sets and nine consecutive matches over two years in Auckland. She has lost only 15 games in four matches so far this year.

Gauff’s win in Auckland last year was the start of a golden run which culminated when she won her first major title at the US Open. She seems in similar, compelling form this year, dominating matches with her serve and powerful ground shots, sending down 10 aces in 12 games in beating Navarro.